When I accidentally read a few facts about this episode, it seemed that this episode would feature some potato-chips-bag-opening-action. I didn’t think much behind it, though it’s almost scary how Light ripped open that bag and started eating. Death Note surely has some of the more creative “action”-scenes I’ve seen in a while.

In any case, this was a fun episode. As the previous episode featured a big climax, the current episode takes a step back again, and the creators start to introduce even more strange quirks in the characters. This episode was really meant in order to flesh out all of the different characters. For starters, Watari treats every member of the investigation to a cone of strangely coloured ice-cream. After a lot of searching, L finally found something suspicious with the surveillance tapes where Ray Penbar was captured: the envelope. Therefore, the ones who were investigated by Ray Penbar have gotten cameras installed in their house.

Then, back at Light’s side, it seems that Ryuk starts acting very weird when he suffers from a lack of apples. Very weird, though very funny as well. Because of this, Light has found a good way to manipulate him and now knows the location of every camera in the house. Light meanwhile displays his extreme chips-eating skills and Light´s father shows some interesting reactions when it seems that his family might be under suspicion. Quite good. After seeing the surveillance on Light, L also gets his first suspicions on Light himself. It seems he’s reminded of himself. ^^;

Also, this episode also showed a good example of lazy animators. It’s been a strange episode this time, in contrast with the previous ones. A very good one as well, mainly due to the weirdness and L’s reaction to Light’s behaviour.

Ooh, this was a very exiting episode: Akizuki vs Kanna, Nakaiya Juubei shows himself and tries to manipulate Katsu with the lord’s head, Soutetsu attempts to seal the lord’s head at the same time and the troupe infiltrates the same mansion in which all of this happens. Basically, 90% for the episode was one big action scene. But was it a good episode?

I’d say it is. I really enjoyed all parts except when Nakaiya manipulated Katsu and his companion. I’m not sure why, but I never really liked the brainwashing scenes in Bakumatsu. The background music also asks a bit too much from the viewer. Still, the other parts were excellent. It’s clear that Akizuki and Kanna have about the same amount of fighting experience, which really results in a battle of speed, stealth and strategy. Really enjoyable to see. Finally we have a fight with a villain who actually has a personality and a bit of a developed character. :)

It also seems that the troupe knew that Nakaiya Juubei was about to make his move. I’m suspecting Soutetsu told them, in order to turn them into a diversion. Their role isn’t too big. They spend most of the episode searching for Nakaiya’s location. Apparently, he hid himself well in a rather large building. At one point, Kanna also runs into Kakunojou, and he has some kind of strange deja vu. It seems like he recognized her from somewhere. Whether this is good or bad, I’m still not sure off.

The episode also takes a strange turn when suddenly, the main villain gets killed. I didn’t pick up the exact details, though I’m suspecting that Soutetsu now has turned into the main antagonist, unless Juubei has some kind of way to get back from the dead, like he did ten years ago. You’d wonder what those around him will do from now on. Will Glover be out of the picture as well, or will he start making his own moves now? And what will Kanna do afterwards, now that his employer is dead?

Ooh! An episode which deviates from the standard Jigoku Shoujo-episodes. As usual with these kinds of episodes, it offers a very nice perspective. For the first time in the second season, we’ve got a cast of male characters, instead of the usual females. The victim this time is an otaku, who’s being bullied by the resident streetpunk. Still, for the first time, we actually see someone refusing the straw doll. He hates the guy, but he actually isn’t willing to go to hell for it.

Then it seems that the streetpunk has troubles of his own. There’s this high school girl he’s fallen in love with, though his superiors have taken her hostage, planning to rape her. Because of this, he sends the guy to hell. Still, the fact remains that he’s an idiot. The twist of the episode was a bit forced, though. He had to die right after his revenge was carried out.

Wanyuudo also got his moment in the spotlight, though in a different way from Ichimoku-ren and Hone Onna in the second and third episode. Wanyuudo behaves more like the resident old guy, who keeps complaining how people nowadays lack any sort of respect and dignity. While he is right about one point - some humans really need to get a smack in the head - he doesn’t look at the normal people, or the fact that evil in humanity has always existed.

Quite a fast pacing. In one episode, the creators ended the parents-arc, eliminated Sonezaki from the main storyline and introduced two new arcs: The Ark-arc and the Futama Yoshiki-arc.

The episode starts like it’s turning back to episode 12 and 13, and it seems like the series returned towards mediocrity again. Sonezaki plays mind games with Naoto, Naoto gets angry, and Sonezaki basically has Naoto in the palm of his hand, the usual stuff. Luckily, Naoya changes this, when he accidentally calls his father “father”, which makes him suspect that he really is her son. Sonezaki then gets interesting when he uses his powers to do something again, but is engulfed by them before he can actually use them. Inside his mind, he gets confronted by a number of people important to him: his mother, his father and even Kariya. In the end, he sees Shouko, before he turns mad.

Still, the damage is done. Naoto and Naoya’s parents have seen Naoto use his powers, and had the same look in their eyes as when they were young. I think that this will be the last we’ll see of them. What follows is a small note from Shouko, passed on through Naoya’s dream. “Men hate conflict, men love conflict. But if you don’t experience either one of them, you won’t be able to overcome the warlike instinct.” An interesting message, though what symbolizes it? What is Ark trying to do?

Then we finally see mastermind behind Ark. It’s an old woman in a wheelchair. She seems to be incredibly powerful. And just when you think that we’ve found our main villain, she claims that a certain “they” will make their move tonight. Does she refer to Naoto and Naoya, or another, third party? The events which followed suggested that the latter, as Naoto and Naoya don’t really have plans for that night.

I started watching episode 17, only to realize that I had yet to see episode 16. Must’ve missed it. In any case, I’m glad I did check out this episode, as it’s a really excellent one. :)

The cross-references this time now take a focus to three very interesting cases: Shoko, Sonezaki and Naoto and Naoya’s parents. The first half of the episode is dedicated to Naoya, who is starting to become like Shouko. When the series started, I remember noting that Naoya’s powers were very similar to Shouko’s, but I never imagined that they’d be this similar. It showed us a good contrast between Naoto and Naoya. Naoya is actually evolving: he’s getting stronger with each experience. Naoto, however, doesn’t have this. Because he’s always protected his little brother, he’s extremely worried about him when something happens to him. Now that Naoya is growing more and more, he’ll face this problem more and more. Interesting. :)

Naoto also tells a bit about the background story of the world. It seems that Atlantis, Mu and Lemuria actually existed, and during those times (102.000 years ago) psychic powers were absolutely normal. Then, these civilizations destroyed themselves, and the world actually got flooded, suggesting that Noah’s Ark really existed. This also can’t be a coincidence: Ark has got to do something with Noah’s Ark. When the Upheaval comes, are they actually planning to do the same thing Noah did when the world flooded?

Part two of the episode takes another strange turn: Naoya reveals that he knows the location of their parents. The first part already was good, though this is even better. Seeing children reunite with their parents almost always works good, though Night Head Genesis goes even further: reality has been altered, which caused Naoto and Naoya to die fifteen years ago, saving a little girl.

Though the best moment of the episode arrived when Sonezaki appeared. The element of surprise is tricky to achieve in anime, especially in the mystery-genre, as you’re already suspecting that there’ll be some twist, though when Sonezaki suddenly walked into the clock store of Naoto and Naoya’s parents, I really was surprised. It seems he’s plotting something again, but what? :)

The past three episodes have really been excellent. Let’s hope that Night Head Genesis can keep this pace up. :)

This is one for the computer geeks among us. It’s a psychological drama, focusing on the barrier between the real world, and the internet (the Wired). It features a girl, Lain, who gets obsessed with it, and eventually this goes out of control. As this anime was made in the year 1998, you could call it science-fiction, to some degree.

I’ve been wanting to check out this anime for a while now. I wonder why it took so long for me to try it out. In any case, I’m glad that I did. Not necessarily because this anime is incredibly good, but because it made me realize one thing about modern anime: the desire for production values. Serial Experiments Lain definitely is an anime that has a different style from all of the newer shows that have been coming out in the 21st century. This is mostly due to the background sounds. There’s almost no background music, and the few tracks that are present are very basic. The creators filled most of the screen time with various sound effects, ranging from electricity wires to a large crowd and the sounds of a train. You’d never hear things like that in today’s anime, where everything revolves around production values.

After watching this anime, I have to say that the creators spent a lot of time on the story. There’s almost no filler, and every episode has a meaning and develops Lain a bit further. Also, if there ever was a non-episodic anime, it’d be Lain. It’s nearly impossible to really define the themes of the different episodes, as they all flow surprisingly well. I also noticed that other 13-episodes anime start off with a quiet pacing, and then at one point, the tension suddenly skyrockets at one climax. This isn’t the case with Lain. The tension really has been very consistent, and it’s been building up perfectly to the final two episodes.

One thing that also becomes clear after only the first episode is that this anime is trying to play mind games with its viewer. We see a lot of psychedelic shots and pans, and sometimes, people don’t even talk for half an episode. Overall, I had a good time watching this anime, though it really seems to be missing something. It really misses an element to make it awesome. What we have here is a solid title, a lot of time was spent on it, though it misses a certain X-factor to make it really stand out.

Ah, it seems that Ghost Hunt will be another one of those anime which only get released twice a month, or so. Not that that’s a problem, or anything. After all, two of the best shows which aired during the Spring Season, Tsubasa Chronicle and The Third, also got subbed slowly. The current arc has been a strange one. Most shows which deal with ghosts can be divided into two parts:
- Ghosts exist
- Ghosts don’t exist.

Ghost Hunt adds a third category: ghosts exist, though this time they’re not really involved. The episode starts with a strange twist, as Mai wakes up, and suddenly, the priest, the monk and the exorcist suddenly start laughing alongside of her. Overall, the tone of the episode also has been very different from the previous one. The conflicts from the previous episode were almost totally gone, and the current episode actually focused on Mai, Naru-chan and Kuroda. The Monk, the Priest and the others were actually placed in the background.

I actually liked this episode. It all seemed to be Kuroda’s fault. Her desires that something might happen caused a poltergeist to blow up various parts of the abandoned school building. The ending of the episode was a very nice one. Naru-chan tries to please all the cute girls again, so he agrees to tell nothing to the principal about Kuroda-san’s involvement with the ghosts. Still, at the end of the episode, the building still collapses. The peculiar thing is that we never get to see Kuroda’s reaction. We never see how she reacts to the fact that she still kept believing that she was right.

I’m really interested about what’s going on inside of Naru-chan’s head. Sure, Mai had a good reason to accept his offer to work for him. He’s a bishounen, and a huge player as well. But I’m wondering about his reason to actually employ Mai. Is it because she’s a woman, or is there another reason for this? Another thing I’m wondering about: will the Monk, the Priest, the Exorcist and the Psychic return after this episode? It seems that everyone has gone home after the case was solved, which means that we won’t see them together anymore, seeing as they all work separately. But will Naru-chan have to work with another one of them at another case?

With the eventfulness of the previous episode, the current episode had to be some kind of intermezzo. And indeed, it takes a step back in order to focus on Sara’s relationship with the new team she’s been assigned to. The episode begins with a battle simulation, and there it becomes clear Sara really doesn’t know the meaning of “teamwork”.

Still, even though this episode took a step back, it still featured a very powerful climax, as Sara finally finds out that Isabella died. Remember the girls who assaulted Sara on the previous episode, well, it seems that they’ve convinced themselves that Sara was the reason that Isabella had to die. Sara really has to endure her heaviest beating thus far when they call her to some kind of abandoned section in the space-ship. Especially their leader, Marietta, goes mental on her. At least, until a deus ex machina makes sure that Lotti stops her. Still, I’m believing that Lotti’s meddling isn’t doing much good. Okay, she managed to stop Marietta for the moment, but it didn’t remove her grudge against Sara, and without a doubt she’ll be thinking of something even worse to do to her, until Sara herself does something about it.

Emily turned into a nice surprise. You would suspect that she’d animate and come to life after she’s been activated, but things just turned out the opposite direction. Even though she’s a major character, she is and remains a lifeless doll, somehow related to the Emily Ralph abducted in episode one. Ah well, it does make her the perfect friend for the ever-silent Sara.

One thing I didn’t like about this episode? Carrisford. I mean, he’s so incredibly bland, he meets all of the stereotypes, and now he’s also trying to become our main character’s love interest? At least Cedric had a bit of depth, but Carrisford is just the epitome of clichés. I hope he dies soon, that way, he’ll be at least a bit useful to the story.

When I found out that this was a case-based anime (as in a collection of individual, unrelated stories, sharing a common theme. Think Mushishi, Jigoku Shoujo and Bartender) I just had to check it out, as it’s one of my favourite genres. Now that I’ve watched it, I can really say that I’m SO glad that I gave this anime a chance. It’s brilliant!

It’s annoying, though. I’ve got so much to say about this wonderful anime, but I’ll refrain from doing so for the sake of spoilers. One of the great things about this collection of stories is its element of surprise. Every episode delivers themes you don’t just think of in one or two moments. The stories are just full of creativity, and they left me hungry for more after each single episode. It’s really best if you just watch this show without having seen or heard anything about it.

Hi no Tori, or in English, Phoenix, consists out of five unique stories, ranging from 1 to 4 episodes. Its main theme is life, but there’s so much more than that. It’s similar to Ningyo no Mori, though it’s way less restricted by the rules it set for itself and made perfect use of this. It’s true that the Phoenix’ blood does bring eternal life, but this anime carries this a bit further than just that. You’ll understand when you watch it. The long stories tell tales of heroes and battles between huge armies, surrounded by events you really can’t see coming, combined with a healthy chunk of atmosphere. The short stories grab one very creative idea, and start toying with it. The results really moved me like no other anime has ever accomplished. (Note: not necessarily that they brought up heavy emotions, more like a huge satisfaction, or utter surprise).

Still, when you start to watch this anime, there’s one thing that will immediately catch your eye: the art. If you only judge on the first episode, you wouldn’t suspect that this anime is from 2004, as it looks really old. Well, let’s just say that you don’t have to worry. I’m not sure why the creators decided this, but the art turns better with every story. And I really mean that significantly. When the fourth arc arrived, I was so surprised at the huge difference from the art-quality, when compared with the first story. The same goes for the music. As the anime progresses, it just starts sounding better and better.

Overall, this is another one of those unknown beauties. If you like thought-provoking stories, I’m definitely recommending you to check this out. My personal favourite episodes were 7 and 13. Episode 7 contained one brilliant concept, while episode 13 really goes further than any other anime has ever gone before. Much further. If you don’t believe me, just watch it, and you’ll understand.

Finally, the subs seem to have caught up with me. It was a nice experiment to start experimenting raw-watching with Saiunkoku Monogatari, but this show just isn’t fit for that. Luckily, I’ve found enough series over the past few months who are, which means that I’ll continue watching this series, based on Shadow’s subs.

This episode had a surprising main character: Ran Ryuuren. This episode again was more of an intermezzo between two arcs, just like the previous episode. Still, there were a lot of differences in theme and tone with the previous episode. Basically, after having disappeared for a while, Ryuuren returns to his Soul Mate #1 and Soul Mate #2: Shuurei and Eigetsu. He also discovers the existence of Soul Mate #2.5, aka Yougetsu. ^^

It’s a comical episode at first sight, though when Ryuuki appears, the serious side of Ran Ryuuren gets into the spotlight. He’s unique in the Ran family, as, even though he’s a genius, he doesn’t concern himself with power and politics. Because of his behaviour, he’s also impossible to blackmail or control, making him very reliable, in a way. Ryuuki realizes this, and uses him as a messenger.

- Kourin also made her appearance during this episode. Kouyuu informs Shuurei of the things she’s done. Afterwards, Kourin visits her, though she’s too scared to say anything about the poisoning. Still, she’ll get her moment some time, as she’ll be accompanying Shuurei to the Sa province.
- The location of the ring of the Sa-clan gets revealed. I should have known. Sho Taishi had it all along. He used it as a vessel for Sa Taiho’s soul, who makes a small appearance in front of Shuurei during the episode.
- Kurou also gets to see Shuurei. With this, Shuurei knows that she’s got the full support of the main house of the Kou clan.

I’m also wondering about the supernatural aspects of this show. They’re well hidden, but they’re there nonetheless. Especially the eight enlightened ones. It’s clear that Sho Taishi is one of them, but what about the other seven? First, I thought that the strange ghost Sho Taishi summoned in the previous episodes was also one of them, but it just appeared to be the young soul of Sa Taiho, who obviously wasn’t one of them.